I was talking to Marg who, proudly, showed me that she just discovered that her lens was also a macro. It's one of these, wide angle to extra tele, all in one lens (no name mentioned). The “macro†is not a macro mode, I would call it a close-up mode and that's not even that close. Then I looked at her lens… so many acronyms
Canon
| Acronym |
Almost sensible wording |
Explanation |
| AF |
AutoFocus |
Provides auto-focus |
| AFD |
Arc Form Drive |
Old design, slower auto-focusing |
| AL |
Aspheric Lens |
Used to minimize aberrations |
| CA |
Circular Aperture lenses |
Aperture blades to give as circular an iris shape as possible (not the standard Chromatic Aberration) |
| CaF2 |
Fluorite element |
Rare earth minerals to improve the optical qualities |
| DO |
Diffractive Optics |
Special lens design that is supposed to rival the L lenses |
| EF |
EF Mount |
The new Canon mount introduced in 1987 |
| EF-S |
EF-S Mount |
Lens designed for APS-C sensors only |
| EMD |
Electro-Magnetic Diaphragm |
All Canon EOS lenses use an electrically controlled aperture |
| Float |
Floating elements |
To improve the close focusing |
| FP |
Focus Preset |
A single focus distance can be preset and instantly returned to |
| FS |
Focus Range Selector |
You can restrict the focus range for faster operation |
| I/R |
Internal focusing |
Improves the speed of the auto-focusing |
| IS |
Image Stabilizer |
Minimizes blur caused by camera shake |
| L |
L Series Lens |
Canon professional level lens |
| MM |
Micro Motor focusing motor |
Old design, slower focusing than USM |
| SF |
Soft Focus |
Defocusing of image, creates a blur in the 135/2.8 SF |
| Super UD |
Super ultra low dispersion glass |
Extremely rare earth minerals to improve the optical qualities |
| TS-E |
Tilt Shift Lens |
Lens capable of tilt and shift movements |
| UD |
Ultra-low dispersion glass |
Rare earth minerals to improve the optical qualities |
| USM |
Ultrasonic Motor |
High-speed auto-focusing |
Nikon
| Acronym |
Almost sensible wording |
Explanation |
| AF |
AutoFocus |
Provides auto-focus |
| ASF |
Aspherical Lens Elements |
Improves the optical quality of the lens |
| CRC |
Close-Range Correction |
Improves the optical quality of fisheyes, wide angles, macro / micro lenses |
| D |
Distance Information |
The D-type and G-type Nikkors lenses send the subject-to-camera distance information to the camera. Use in EXIF and for the matrix metering and the fill-in flash |
| DC |
AF DC |
Defocusing of image, creates a blur in portrait lenses |
| DX |
DX Nikkor |
Lens for the APS-C Nikon sensor only |
| ED |
Extra-low Dispersion Glass |
Rare earth minerals to improve the optical qualities |
| FX |
FX Nikkor |
Lens for both the full frame and the APS-C Nikon sensor |
| IF |
Internal Focusing |
The lens can focus without changing its size |
| M/A |
Manual/Auto Mode |
Allows to operate in manual focus while in auto-focus |
| N |
Nano Crystal Coating |
Nikon's premium multi-layer lens coating |
| PC |
Perspective Control |
Lens capable of tilt and shift movements |
| RF |
Rear Focusing |
Improves the speed of the auto-focusing |
| SIC |
Super Integrated Coating |
Nikon's standard multi-layer lens coating |
| SWM |
Silent Wave Motor |
High-speed auto-focusing |
| VR |
Vibration Reduction |
Minimizes blur caused by camera shake |
